Surprising Findings
by La miseria y la muerte
Summary: I never knew who my parents were. I thought about it all the time, but never knew. When I finally found out who my father was, it was the last guy I expected- or wanted.
1. Chapter One

Author's Note: Charlie and Caitlin are copyright their respective owner, Bohrok127. He gave me permission to use them and post this here.  
  
Charlie's PoV  
  
I layed in bed that night, tossing and turning. I was having that dream again- the one where I was a baby pup and my mother had me in her arms. She was singing that song again. She was always singing that song.  
Her song haunts me. It's so sweet, so gentle, so elusive. It has words, but you can't say them. No one can say them except for her and me. It was like a siren going off, it triggered something within me. The Siren Song. I cried in my sleep, hearing that song. I wanted someone to come and kill me, just so the memories would stop haunting me. I felt my heart being ripped out over and over again. I was soul-less every time I heard that song.  
I was seperated from my parents. I was in a different dimension. I've forgotten who they were. Mom and dad... I had a sister and brother, I remember them, but I can't remember my parents. Mom singing The Siren Song of intangible lyrics. Dad stroking the top of my head. Both of them. I knew them, yet I didn't. I had memories of them, but I didn't know who they were. I could recall those memories of mom and dad, but they would always be faceless, nameless. I sat beside them in my dreams, but I didn't know who they were.  
I pulled the covers over my head. I was crying still. I wanted it all to go away. I wish I could forget them; I wish there was nothing left of them- no memories, no past, no nothing. Nothing to keep me wanting, nothing to make me try and remember.  
That song... those words... the memories.  
  
I woke up with a pounding headache. My girlfriend Caitlin shook my shoulder rapidly.  
"Charles," she said, "Wake up."  
I rubbed my hands over my eyes. They were stained with tears.  
"You were tossing and turning all night." Caitlin said. "Did you have a bad dream?"  
"I can't remember." I lied. How could I tell her that I dreamed of my forgotten parents?  
"I'm going downstairs. You want breakfast?" She asked.  
I shook my head. I wasn't in the mood to eat.  
She smiled, gave me a kiss and ran downstairs. I smiled. She was the only person I really had, the only one that I really knew was real and there for me.  
  
I got out of bed right before lunch time. I couldn't take my mind off of the dream, off of that song. As I layed on the couch, I pulled my hands over my ears. I held my ears down and quietly, almost silently, sang the song to myself. No one heard me. I layed there, looking like I wanted to be anywhere else.  
Lilo walked into the room with Stitch. She was carrying that glass cylinder again, the one they trapped experiments in. Stitch was the one who had taken me in when I first came here. When I was alone and homeless. Lilo thought it had been a good idea to have me here, but I can tell that Stitch never really liked me.  
"We're going out to catch another experiment." Lilo said. "It was chopping down palm trees on the other side of town this morning. You wanna come, Charles?"  
I turned my head on the couch and looked at her. "No... no thanks." I said.  
Caitlin walked into the room before they left. "What's wrong with him?" Lilo asked her.  
"He had a bad night." Caitlin said, and walked over. She rubbed the back of my neck.  
I looked up at Stitch before he left. I couldn't read minds like my brother or sister, but I didn't have to after he gave me that look: free-loader, he glared.  
I dug my face back into the couch cushion. Why did I get up this morning?  



	2. Chapter Two

I was still lying on the couch by the time Lilo came back with Stitch. Caitlin had me wrapped in one of those big hugs. She was lying right next to me. I was looking right into her eyes and kissing her when they walked in. I wasn't embarrassed- it's not like they had never walked in on me with a girl before, but Caitlin's face had turned a brighter pink than I'd ever seen on her before. "Umm... hey." She muttered.  
Lilo giggled. I could see that smile creep across Stitch's face. The one that said, "Oooh... so that's what was happening!" Geez... it was nothing like THAT.  
Before Caitlin's face got any brighter, I changed the subject. "So, how'd the experiment catching go?"  
"Oh, it was fine. He's cutting off trails for the tourists now." Lilo said.  
"I see that things here went... heh heh, smoothly." Stitch grinned.  
I rolled my eyes as Caitlin blushed even more.  
They both left the room, but not without another embarrassing grin from Stitch.  
I sighed and leaned back on the couch. "He hates me."  
"Who?" Caitlin asked.  
"Stitch. Ever since I came here it's like he's wanted me to leave!"  
"No he doesn't." Caitlin put her hand on my shoulder.  
"Yeah, he does." I said.  
Caitlin smiled and laid her head on my shoulder. "Awww, Charles..."  
I grinned. I lifted her off the couch, one of my arms under her knees and the other behind her back. She looked at me, both shocked and smiling. We gave each other another kiss and then I carried her up to our room.  
  
I walked downstairs to the kitchen late that night. I just wanted a quick midnight snack before bed.  
I was walking past Angel and Stitch's room when I heard voices. Normally, I don't eavesdrop, but my super hearing had been unused until now. I had to make use of it one of these days!  
"That kid..." Stitch grumbled.  
"Stitch," Angel said. "I know he's a pup, but-"  
"But what? He's a lazy little kid. He just sits on his ass and watches TV or drags girls home."  
Angel sighed. "He's a PUP. What's he supposed to do?"  
"I don't know. Maybe try and make something out of himself."  
"Stitch, give him time. He'll get older, wiser-"  
"HA!" Stitch laughed, "By the time I was his age I was hunting down experiments every other day with Lilo."  
Angel glared. "Well he didn't start his life off in a prison cell or a dog pound."  
"Ehh..." Stitch grumbled. "I took him in, gave him everything. He wouldn't have a home or family without me."  
I wanted to walk away, but I just had to hear where this was going. I inched closer to the door.  
Angel said quietly, "Give him a chance-"  
"No!" Stitch said. "I'm sick of giving him chances. That kid's never going to do anything.  
I heard Angel take a few steps closer to Stitch. I could tell she was trying to comfort him by now.  
"That kid..." Stitch sighed. "Sometimes I wish I had never brought him back here..."  
I pulled my ear away and ran upstairs crying. I know he was probably speaking out of stress, but... I still felt useless and unwanted. I laid next to Caitlin on our bed. She was already asleep.  
  
I didn't have the dream again that night- thank God! I could hardly stand the fact that my family here hated me. I didn't want to be reminded that my REAL family didn't even know me. There was some sort of emptiness in me. I could ignore it, but The Siren Song would point it out over and over again. It was mocking the hole in my heart.  
Caitlin had left that morning with some of her girl friends. It's not like I WANTED to stay here, but it was either that or walk around the mall with five girls. What would any guy pick?  
I spent another morning sitting on the couch watching TV. I was alone for a couple hours until Lilo walked in.  
"Hi Charles." She said, trying to sound perky.  
I grumbled. "Hey."  
"What's up?"  
"Nuttin'."  
I knew Lilo was one of the few people in this house that didn't hate my guts, but I really didn't want to talk to anyone right now.  
She scratched me behind the ears. Damn... she knew my one weakness. I purred.  
"Is something wrong, Charlie?" She asked.  
"No." I lied. Lilo was big-mouth. If I told her that I was missing my parents, she would tell everyone.  
"You seem lonely..." She said.  
I felt bad. Lilo would probably understand- she had lost her parents. But she knew who they were. She could give them names and faces in her memories. I couldn't do that.  
"I'm fine, Lilo." I said, trying to make it sound like I meant it.  
She frowned. She knew I was lying. "You don't sound happy..."  
I sighed. Stitch hated me and wanted me to leave. How could I explain that to her? I just dug my head into the couch. So what if I was being childish? I didn't feel much like being an adult right now.  
Lilo patted the back of my head and walked away. I don't know if she understood or not, but I didn't really care. 


	3. Chapter Three

I looked at the clock. 5:00 PM... damn. Caitlin was still out with her friends. I sighed. I know that Caitlin needs time with other girls, but without her... I'm alone. I sank back into the couch cushion. Stitch already thinks I'm lazy; why should I embarrass him by proving him wrong?  
  
Jumba walked into the room. He was carrying some sort of... evil genius invention or something. I didn't wanna know what it was. If I asked, he might want to test it on me.  
  
I tried to make myself look invisible by sliding as far back into the couch as I could, but he still saw me.  
  
"Hello evil genius creation. Why havingk long face?" Jumba asked.  
  
What?!? Did he really want to talk to ME about my problems? I didn't want to talk to anyone- especially not Jumba. I can't even understand half of what he says!  
  
"Um... I'm okay." I said.  
  
"You have been mopingk around house for very long time now." He said.  
  
I congratulate your powers of observation. I sighed. "I'm fine, really."  
  
"Okay then, I shall be seeingk you later, 626-2."  
  
626-2?

* * *

I tried to sleep that night, but I couldn't. I was tossing and turning. Caitlin was next to me, fast asleep, completely unaware. Good, I didn't want to trouble her. I kept thinking about it... my name. 626-2.  
  
I knew why Stitch hated me. I hadn't just come into his house, taken his shelter and care ungratefully. It wasn't just that. I had taken his identity. I was in a cold sweat. I wanted to sleep, if only to forget about it. Then maybe I could wake up with the chance that it only had been a dream. Jumba hadn't really said 626-2. That wasn't really me. But I wasn't going to sleep. It wasn't going to be a dream. That's who I was. No one. I was just a second Stitch. He hated me because I made him look bad. I gave him a bad name.  
  
I put my hands over my eyes. Please... make it stop. Something, make it shut up! Did God hate me? Why was He doing this to me? What had I ever done?  
  
I turned onto my side and let the tears fall out. I didn't sleep that night.

* * *

Caitlin convinced me to go out with her the next day. She said that if I stayed inside all day like this, I would turn so pale that I'd be grapefruit-colored. I rolled my eyes and walked outside with her after that.  
  
She brought me to the beach with Angel and Stitch. Just the two people I wanted to see that day! Augh... this was gonna be hell. Stitch glaring at me like some free-loader, and the sun!!! I haven't seen that thing in two days straight. And now it's right there, so bright and shining- AUGH!  
  
Caitlin sat down next to me while I tried to hide my eyes from the burning light. "Charles, you seem upset lately." She said.  
  
Oh no. How could I tell her? What was I supposed to do? "Ungh... it's just... ya know... stuff."  
She looked at me. She had that genuine concern in her eyes. It cut through me like a butcher's knife. "Caitlin, I don't wanna talk about it." I said. Short and painless, right?  
  
She stared down on me- that look again. I wanted to hide. I felt like one of those dumb five-year-olds that burry their face in their hands when they've done something wrong. I looked up at her. She wanted to know"It's nothing I can explain." I told her.  
  
She smiled. I guess she could understand that. She leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.

* * *

Another Monday came. Nani was at her job, Lilo was at school, Caitlin was busy with friends, Jumba and Pleakley were God knows where and Angel and Stitch were busy doing stuff that I'd rather not think about. Just me and the TV again.  
  
After an hour or two, I heard the back door slam shut. Angel and Stitch must be leaving. Looks like I'm home alone again.  
  
I started singing The Siren Song to myself again. I had had the dream again last night, but somehow... it had seemed more vivid. I could almost make out mom's face in it. I stopped singing it after awhile... but the noise was still coming. I could hear the song. Someone else was singing it! And this wasn't in a dream.  
  
It was coming from the backyard. Mom had come back for me! She had remembered me! I walked slowly and cautiously to the back of the house, yet my heart was racing. I could finally meet her! I would have parents!  
  
I creeped into the room. The song was coming from behind the back door. I peeked through it carefully. There was someone singing the song, I heard it! I looked out through the crack in the door and there she was.  
  
Angel.  
  
I saw her singing The Siren Song. I knew it was her. No one else was there. She must have stayed here while Stitch left.  
  
If Angel was my mom, then that meant my dad was...  
  
I turned around. I didn't want her to see me. I started running. I ran out the front door. I kept going. When would I stop? I don't know. It didn't seem like there was a reason to. 


	4. Chapter Four

I slowly pushed the front screen door open. I lifted my orange feet and timidly took a few steps inside the house. I had been outside the for almost four hours, sitting in the woods, or at the beach, or wherever I could just sit. I wanted some time to think.  
  
Angel was my mother. I knew by the song and the dreams. That meant Stitch was my dad.  
  
The Stitch that hated me. The Stitch that thought I was free-loading off of him. The Stitch that thought I was bringing disgrace to his name. The Stitch that wished he had never brought me here.  
  
He was my dad.  
  
Weren't dads supposed to be the kind of people that love you? I thought that dads were the kind of person that looked into your eyes when you were a baby and felt nothing but love for you. My dad couldn't even stand to look at me. My dad wished that I didn't exist.  
  
I crept over to Angel's room. She must be there by herself.  
  
My throat felt dry and my mind was spinning. I felt like I was going to faint. I wished I could run away, but I had to talk to her. I had to say something. I knocked on the door quietly. Maybe she hadn't heard me! I thought. Maybe I could still run-  
  
"Come in." Angel said.  
  
No turning back.  
  
I creaked the door open and walked inside. "Angel?" I said.  
  
"Yes?" She answered. She was making her and Stitch's bed. She grabbed the sheets out of the laundry basket and started unfolding it.  
  
"Um... I mean..." Just say it, "Mom."  
  
Her jaw dropped wide open. She let go of the sheets she had in her hand. It took her about five seconds to grab hold of reality. She jumped over the bed and ran over to me. She grabbed me by the collar, her two clawed hands ripping into my fur. "How did you- What happened- Why did-" She couldn't finish a question. She just looked at me with a glare that was a mixture of disbelief and rage. I wish I could've read minds like my older siblings, but I really didn't need to. She was thinking "Busted."  
  
"I heard you singing The Siren Song. I recognized it. I have dreams of mom- I mean you- singing it to me when I was a pup." I explained to her.  
  
She let go of me and shook her head. "This wasn't supposed to happen... this wasn't supposed to happen..." She kept repeating.  
  
I wish I could've understood how she felt. I wish that I had asked her. But I wanted to know about my puphood, whether it was good or bad. I had to know who my parents were and who I really was.  
  
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I asked.  
  
She looked at me as if I had asked her what color the sky was. "Why didn't I ever tell you? HA! I never even told Stitch! I was ashamed... embarrassed." She said. "I didn't get pregnant by me and Stitch making love. I drank his blood. Something happened inside of me- that's how I got pregnant. Jumba extracted you out of me and raised you like a test tube baby in a lab."  
  
Okay, so in less than a day I had found out (a) The guy that hates me more than anyone in the world is my father and he doesn't even know it (b) I was raised as a freaky lab baby (c) A mad scientist raised me after he had extracted my fetus from my mom. If anyone had a crazier birth, please raise your hand now! Why couldn't I have had those normal parents? You know, the dad that works in some office God knows where, the mom that just cooks and goes shopping and the annoying little siblings that yap around me 24/7 to play or some shit like that. Instead I had a mom that got pregnant by drinking blood and a dad that didn't even wish I lived in this house! That'd make a great family portrait.  
  
Mom was looking down at the ground with tears coming out of her eyes. Why was she feeling sorry for herself? I was the one here who had just found out that I had the two weirdest parents in the world! But, they were still parents, right?  
  
"Mom-" I started.  
  
She cut me off as soon as she made eye contact with me. "You can NEVER tell Stitch!" She said. "If he found out... I just don't know what would happen."  
  
So much for a father-son fishing trip. "But mom, he has to know." I said.  
  
"NO!" She shouted, putting her hands over her ears. "NO! NO! NO! Never! We can never tell him!" She collapsed to the floor and starting crying. The tears were rolling off her pink fur.  
  
I walked out of the room. No one wants to witness an emotional breakdown.  
  
It was almost midnight, but I wanted some assurance. I had to talk to Jumba. I walked into his room upstairs.  
  
"Jumba?" I whispered.  
  
He was sitting at his work table looking through some files on his computer. He turned around and looked at me. "Ah, 626-2. Why the late night hellos?"  
  
"I need to ask you some questions." I said timidly.  
  
"All right, let's start with the askingk of questions." He said.  
  
Oh, geez. That was an Oscar-winning accent. "Um, is it possible for a female experiment to get pregnant by drinking a male experiment's blood?"  
  
Jumba tapped his chin with a quizzical finger. "Hmm... Yes, I suppose if female experiment is to be drinkingk blood of male experiment... Yes, yes, could be possible. But, bah! The odds are a million to one!"  
  
Great, I had had a million to one chance of being born into this crappy life. "But Jumba, don't you remember Angel having that baby?"  
  
"Angel? A baby? I am not knowingk anythingk of the sort." He said.  
  
Jumba wasn't lying. He doesn't lie. But still... shouldn't he remember?  
  
It was pretty early the next morning- Nine A.M.- when I woke up. I had gotten to bed at about three in the morning last night, but I had to figure out my past. I didn't have time to sleep!  
  
I saw Angel walking down the hall with Stitch on their way to the kitchen, probably for breakfast. I walked down the stairs to see them.  
  
"Hey," I said.  
  
Angel turned around and looked at me.  
  
"Um, mom-" I got cut off.  
  
That look she gave me was cold enough to freeze this entire island.  
  
"What'd he say?" Stitch asked.  
  
"Nothing." Angel answered in a split second.  
  
"Really? I thought he-"  
  
"He didn't." Angel grabbed Stitch's hand and brought him to the kitchen. She turned around and looked me in the eyes for a split second. That was just enough time for her to growl at me.  
  
I hung my head and stared down at the floor. I knew I would never say that word to anyone again.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, it's a good thing I sent this chapter to Bohrok127 for proofreading before I uploaded it. In the first draft, I wrote that Angel got pregnant by drinking spit instead of blood. Thanks for picking up on that, Bohrok. He explained it to me, "If you could get pregnant from drinking spit, then kissing would have deadly results!" 


	5. Chapter Five

I hung my head and slouched. I was sitting on the red couch in the living room. I sighed as  
Caitlin rubbed the fur in the back of my head.  
  
"Is something wrong?" She asked.  
  
I shook my head.  
  
She layed her head on my chest. She shoved her nose into my shoulder. I rubbed the side of her neck with my other hand. How did I get so lucky to be graced with such a goddess?  
  
"Are you okay, Charlie?" She said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." I told her as she rubbed her nose against my cheek.  
  
I wasn't going to tell her that I had found out who my parents were. I wasn't going to tell her that Stitch was my dad and Angel was my mom. I couldn't say those things to her. I couldn't say anything to her. All that I wanted to do was look into those deep eyes of hers. I loved her.

* * *

I had the dream again that night. It wasn't exactly the same, though. But it felt like deja vu.  
  
At the beginning of the dream, I was laying in mom's arms with dad beside me, as always. But then it changed. Mom and dad faded away. They were gone and I was left alone in with the pitch black empty space surrounding me. I walked aimlessly, my orange paws climbed one step after the other. Suddenly, I heard The Siren Song. I walked further and it got louder and louder. I started running. Before I knew it, there were walls beside me. I went around them. They got closer and closer together. I was suddenly in a maze. I walked around corners, escaped dead ends, went down alleys, then finally I came to the end. The Siren Song was so loud, I could hear it being sang right in front of me. I turned the last corner and came face to face with whom was meeting me there.  
  
It was Stitch.  
  
He looked at me straight on in the eyes. Angel was sitting behind him. She said to Stitch, "Bite him." Stitch growled at me and barked. I turned around and instead of finding myself inside the maze again, I fell down a dark bottomless pit.  
  
I woke in a cold sweat.

* * *

My eyes felt too heavy to keep open. I was laying as far back as I could on the couch and Caitlin had her head on my shoulder. I was so glad Caitlin was there. I needed her right now. I didn't need to talk to her. I didn't need to make out with her. I didn't really need anything from her right now. Just for her to be there. That's it. Just to know that I have someone. That's all I really needed right now.  
  
She smiled and we sat there. That was it. I felt that life was perfect.  
  
Then Stitch came in.  
  
He walked slowly to the front door. "I'm going out." He said.  
  
"'Kay." I answered.  
  
"You going to go anywhere?"  
  
"Nope." I answered idly.  
  
"Just gonna stay here with your girl?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Stitch rolled his eyes. "Lazy ass kid..." he muttered.  
  
I'm not quite sure if Stitch knew that I had super-hearing like he did. He kept muttering stuff about me and acting like I didn't know what he was saying. I played along. "What'd you say?"  
  
"Nothing." He said innocently and walked out the door.  
  
Caitlin sat up and shook her head. "What is his problem?" She asked retorically.  
  
I suddenly felt it all wash over me. Stitch, Angel, the dreams, the secrets, Jumba, all those nights I layed awake wishing I could meet my parents and now knowing that they both hated my guts, everything crashed down on me. I lost all the strength I had had and just broke down.  
  
I collapsed onto the floor and barried my eyes in my hands. "It just can't be! It just can't be!" I shouted to no one. I couldn't cry. I just couldn't. There was something in me that is too confused and overwhelmed to cry. So I didn't.  
  
Caitlin laid next to me on the floor. "Charles, please, just tell me what's wrong. Don't say 'nothing' because I won't believe you."  
  
"He's my father."

* * *

By the time it was afternoon, I had told Caitlin everything. I told her about Angel drinking the blood, Jumba not remembering anything, me not being able to tell Stitch, everything. And the more she looked at me as if this was some crazy story I was making up, the more I began to believe it was.  
  
It's funny, when you hear this story and you start believing it, it becomes like a second nature to you- an accepted fact or truth. But then you tell it to someone else, and you feel crazy. Like it couldn't possibly be real. And you feel almost stupid for ever believing in it.  
  
"I know it sounds crazy." I said.  
  
"It is crazy." Caitlin agreed.  
  
"I can hardly believe it either."  
  
She nodded.  
  
We sat in that somber moment for awhile. This was what I had been afraid of. I didn't want anything in my relationship with Caitlin except for love. I didn't want us to sit here and ponder depressing thoughts. But I suppose that the cruelty of truth and life was something neither of us could avoid- even if we had each other.  
  
"Come on," I said, nudging her, "Let's go upstairs."  
  
She smiled and stood up. "Okay."  
  
I walked alongside her, but before we got to the stairs, we saw Stitch in the hallway.  
  
I accidently bumped into him. I didn't mean to- honest! He looked at me and glared. He started walking away. I noticed that Angel was standing with him, smiling confusedly.  
  
Caitlin couldn't take it. I knew that she loved me as much as I loved her. She just hated the sight of my father looking at me like that. She knew how it saddened me.  
  
She lifted up her head and shouted at Stitch, "He's your so- !"  
  
Before that sentence was finished, a hand of pink claws had flown through the air. Angel stood in front of Caitlin, a look of pure rage on her face. I looked down at Caitlin. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  
  
She was lying on the floor with three gashes across her face. Blood was seeping through them. She was hurt and beaten. And Angel stood up there, a contempt smile on her face.  
  
"What was Caitlin saying?"  
  
"Nothing, sweetie." Angel took another satisfied look at her prey.  
  
I can tell you this now as I am looking back on the moment. In my lifetime, I was able to accept the fact that both of my parents had hated my guts. I was able to accept that I had born in a freakish unnatural way. I was able to accept that my siblings only assisted in making my life a living hell. But never, in all my years of living, was I ever able to accept the fact that Caitlin had been slapped and hurt. I could never repress the look of those three unsightly scars on her beautiful face. Angel had hit my goddess. I didn't matter if she was my mother or not, I wasn't going to let her get away with it.  
  
I ran across the hall and let my second set of arms grow out. In a matter of seconds, I had my claws pressed into her back. I used my second set of arms to her hold down and my first set pressed her head into the ground.  
  
I growled loudly. I heard her whimpering and squealing. I stopped caring that she was my mother. All I knew at that moment was that I hated her and loved Caitlin. And she had hurt Caitlin- so I hated her even more.  
  
I stood up, still on her back, and I was about to do my worst, but a blue, clawed ball of fur ran over me. Stitch was holding my arms down into the ground. He had grown out his second pair just like me.  
  
I looked in his eyes and growled like a starving wolf. I lifted up my legs and kicked him off of me.  
  
Stitch immediately crawled back onto his hands and then stood up on his two feet. The spikes grew out on his back and he showed his sharp teeth and claws. "Mega nala kweesta!!" He shouted at me and lunged.  
  
I grabbed his four hands with mine and tried to push him back. It was hard, though. We had equal strength.  
  
With a sudden and surprising surge of energy, Stitch pushed me away from him and I flew right into the back wall. I landed onto the floor and immediately tried to get back up, but it was hard. I had hurt my back pretty bad and I think one of my shoulder blades might have been dislocated. There was a huge gash on my back. I felt blood running out of it. I wasn't going to stop, though. I had to avenge Caitlin, myself and my puphood. I charged again.  
  
I jumped on top of Stitch and held his four arms down using mine. I felt my left shoulder struggling to hold him. I knew then that something had happened to it and was injured. It was tough, what I was doing. I was literally getting knocked down from a punch then coming back up and asking for more.  
  
I had him pinned down and I was looking him right in the face. He could break free, but it would take some struggling. I thought up a way to get him while I could. I deployed my second jaw- it sprung out right from my mouth. My second jaw was hard to deploy, but it had teeth five times as sharp as a coyote's. I sunk it right into Stitch's chest. I bet it was only inches from his heart.  
He screamed in an immense pain. There was blood seeping everywhere, part of his muscle was visible. I grinned sinisterly while the blood stained my teeth.  
  
His struggling to get out from under me nearly ceased. I stepped back off of him instead. He got onto his knees and retracted his second arms. He placed the two he had left over his wound. He was hunched over and there were tears falling from his face. He was shaking all over from the pain, but he could still mutter these words to me. "Get out. Right now. You cold-hearted bastard."  
  
I retracted my second arms.  
  
It had seemed like such a long, soulless battle. Me and Stitch were now both debilitated to such an extent that we couldn't fight any longer. I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted to let him know the heartache and pain I've gone through because of him. I looked at him for only a few more seconds. I spit at his feet. I don't need you.  
  
I picked up Caitlin- my wingless angel. She fluttered her eyes open. "Where are we going?" She asked, as I walked out the front door with her.  
  
"Anywhere we want." I kissed her shortly on the lips and she comfortably laid back in my arms.


	6. Chapter Six

I held the wet cloth up to Caitlin's face again. I knew they were just three small scars, but she had a way of making me care for her.  
  
We had our own house now, me and Caitlin. We had walked until we saw a 'For Rent' sign somewhere and then just took the place. I'd get the money to pay for it, somehow. Hell, I'd work digging ditches if it means I never have to be anywhere near Stitch again.  
  
Caitlin pushed my hand away. "Charles, stop," She said, "We need to get you to a hospital. Your shoulder is dislocated and you have a cut on your back that's longer and deeper than any cut I've ever seen."  
  
"I'll live." I said. "I'm just worried about you."  
  
"Don't be," She told me, "I wasn't in a fight as brutal as the one you were in."  
  
"I'll get over it; cuts heel. I'll never forget what she did to you, though, never." I held her close.  
  
"Oh, Charlie," She said.  
  
I stroked the back of her head. My Goddess.

* * *

The next day, there was a knock on the door. I got up and went into the other room to see who it was.  
  
Lilo walked in. "Aloha cousins." She said, cheerful as always. She was carrying a few boxes in her arms.  
  
"What's this stuff?" I asked as she set the boxes down in the living room.  
  
"Well, Stitch was throwing away some stuff today. I noticed it was all of your stuff and when I asked him 'Why are you throwing away Charlie's stuff?' he just said 'Who's stuff?' so I asked Angel where your new address is and she sent me here."  
  
I opened up one of the boxes. "Haven't seen this stuff in five days." I said.  
  
"Yeah, we all really thought you'd come home." Lilo said.  
  
I laughed at the thought of going back. Why would I?  
  
"Someone wanted to come see you." Lilo told me.  
  
"Who?" I asked.  
  
"She's outside." Lilo went back to the door and shouted, "Okay, you can come in!"  
  
I saw four pink paws step feebly inside. I turned my head. I didn't want to see her.  
  
"Charlie?" Angel said.  
  
I grumbled.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She hung her head about three inches from the ground. "I'm sorry. I should've told Stitch in the first place."  
  
I reluctantly looked over at her. She had a cut on her shoulder and a black eye. I suppose we had all gotten hurt pretty badly.  
  
"Has he heard now?" I asked. Angel nodded. "How'd he take it?"  
  
"He just keeps saying to himself 'I have no son, I have no son' over and over again. I told him about how I drank the blood and everything. He just can't accept it." Angel told me.  
  
I sighed. I knew he didn't want me as a son.  
  
"He's hurt pretty badly." She said.  
  
I nodded solemnly.  
  
"Jumba had him under morphine for a couple of days. He's got bandages wrapped all around his chest and shoulder. He's so near death, it's eerie."  
  
I bit my bottom lip. I didn't know what to think. Stitch was my dad, and I had caused that, and I did want him to hurt, but... dead? I didn't want him dead.  
  
"Charlie," Angel grabbed my hand, "I want you to forgive me."  
  
I felt a stage of overwhelming disbelief come over me. "What?"  
  
"All the things I've done are driving me crazy." She said. "I was wrong. I should have told Stitch after you came to me. Even beyond that, I should have told you and Stitch before you found out. You had no idea who your parents were, didn't you?"  
  
I shook my head. Tears were coming to my eyes. "I had nightmares about it. I heard The Siren Song from mom, but I didn't know who it was."  
  
"I'm so crazy... I went to extreme efforts to make sure Stitch never knew." Angel confessed, "I erased Jumba's memory. I made sure he didn't remember you being born. That way I knew he wouldn't tell Stitch. I didn't take any chances."  
  
"How'd you erase Jumba's memory?" I asked.  
  
"Charlie, do you really think Jumba made me with only the ability to turn experiments from good to evil?" Angel smiled sinisterly.  
  
I sighed.  
  
"But, I shouldn't have done those things to you. Please Charlie, please forgive me." Angel started weeping.  
  
I looked at her. She was Angel. My mother who kept me a secret. My mom that never told my father I was his. The woman that had hit the love of my life. She was crying and begging me for forgiveness. I didn't want to forgive her. I really, really didn't. But deep down... I knew I had too.  
  
I held her head up so I could look her straight in the eyes. "I forgive you."  
  
Her crying ceased. She didn't hug me. She didn't thank me. She just looked at me with shock and disbelief. Her jaw had dropped open. She stared as if I was some Godly figure.  
  
"I wouldn't have done the same thing." Was all she said.  
  
"I know," I told her, "But I had to."  
  
Angel shook my hand and then walked out the front door. That astonished look still painted on her face.  
  
Damnit, why do I have to be such a nice guy?

* * *

I told Caitlin what had happened between me and Angel later. She smiled and gave me one of the biggest hugs I had ever gotten from her. She told me I had done the right thing.  
  
I suppose that's what Caitlin does to me. She gave me moral values so I could go through these times. She really just made me an all around good person.  
  
She rubbed her head against my neck. "I'm proud of you, Charles."  
  
I smiled and rubbed her head. "I love you, Caitlin."  
  
I could practically feel her smile against my chest. "I love you too, Charlie."  
  
Just then- at the worst possible moment- there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Oh geez," I got up and went to go see who it was.  
  
"Who is it?" I asked and then opened a tiny crack in the door. Immediately, I shut it in his face.  
  
The knock came back again. "Open up." He said.  
  
"Get the hell of my property!" I warned him.  
  
"Charlie..." he said.  
  
"Stitch," I told him, "I've killed dozens of other experiments in my lifetime. One more isn't going to stain my conscience."  
  
"I have to talk to you." He said.  
  
"What? So you can tell me that I'm not your son? So you can tell me that I'm a lazy free loader? So you can tell me that I'm a useless parasite on society?"  
  
"Geez, Charlie. Just open the door."  
  
"You have five minutes until I call the cops."  
  
He groaned and stopped pounding at the door. "Damn... why do you have to be so stubborn, Charlie? Augh, listen. I just came over here to apologize. I'm sorry I attacked you. But you can't blame me for what I did-"  
  
"Hell yes, I can!"  
  
"I did it because you attacked Angel!" Stitch said, "I love Angel every bit as much as you love Caitlin. I couldn't take the sight of her standing there, beaten and hurt. I shouldn't have attacked my only son, I know. But I was driven by love, Charles."  
  
I sank down to the ground. Damnit, he was right. I had hurt Angel the same way Angel had hurt Caitlin. Had I been Stitch, I would've done the same thing. But there was a question that I had to ask him...  
  
"Do you hate Angel now that you know I'm her son?" I asked.  
  
I thought I could hear a small laugh come from the other side of the door. "No, no... I don't think there's anything in this world she could do that would ever make me love her any less."  
  
I smiled. At least my existing hadn't affected their relationship with each other. Even if it did affect mine with them.  
  
I opened the door for him. "Come on in, Stitch."  
  
Stitch walked in just far enough for me to look him in the eyes. "So, this is your new place, huh?"  
  
"Yup." I said.  
  
It was true what Angel had said- he did have bandages wrapped around half of his body. His entire left arm was held up in a sling.  
  
"What happened to your arm?" I asked.  
  
"Oh," he said, "Jumba thinks it might be paralyzed- he doesn't know if it's permanent or not. But I guess that's the down side of having an evil genius slash mad scientist as a doctor." He laughed a little.  
  
Stitch took a deep breath. He was getting ready to say something big. "Listen, Charlie, I'm really sorry about everything that's happened. I want you to forgive me. I'm not saying you have to accept me as a father figure- I know that'll never happen. But I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything I've ever said or done to you. I'll never really be your father; you'll probably never even like me, but maybe we could... you know... not hope that each other burns in hell?"  
  
I laughed and shook Stitch's hand. "Deal."  
  
"Charlie!" Caitlin called.  
  
"Yeah?" I shouted back.  
  
"I need you in the bedroom!"  
  
Caitlin! Did you really just say that?!?!  
  
Stitch tried to hide his laughter. "Oh, sorry! Didn't know I was interrupting something! Heh heh..."  
  
"Okay, thanks for stopping by! So sorry you had to leave so soon!" I pushed him out the door and slammed it behind him. It's true what they say- when family comes to visit you after you've moved out, you start remembering why you left in the first place.  
  
I walked into the bedroom. "Yeah, Caitlin?" I asked.  
  
She pointed to a picture frame. "Do you think this looks straight?"  
  
My ears drooped. "Yeah... sure."

* * *

After an exhausting day like that, the night couldn't have come a moment too soon. Me and Caitlin had been watching TV on the couch and she had fallen asleep with her head in my lap. I stroked her fur back by her ears and she'd purr in her sleep. She was so calm and peaceful.  
  
I loved Caitlin so much and was so glad to have her. This was the toughest time of my life and she had been with me all through it. Not once did she back down or let me fall. She was there for me. I could trust her. It felt unspeakably great.  
  
I thought about Caitlin for a moment. I realized that she wasn't like me. She had a family that loved her and wasn't dysfunctional. She had friends that liked to hang out with her. She was smart and she could go to school or start her own career.  
  
But she wasn't doing any of that.  
  
She was here with me instead. That's how much she loved me, I realized. She gave up all her potential and her great life to be here with me. To be with me and my family that hit her, and my never-ending sob stories, and my crazy, confusing life. She had everything and yet... she wanted to have me instead.  
  
I held her as close as I could. An overwhelming feeling of love had come over me. For the rest of my life I knew that I never wanted to be with another girl besides Caitlin.  
  
I gentily slid off the couch. I had to go somewhere. I had to go now. I couldn't wait another minute. There was something uncompleted in my life that I knew I had to take care of.


	7. Chapter Seven

Author's Note: La miseria y la muerte here. This is the last chapter. Enjoy my crappy writing!  
  
And again, I'd like to give a million thanks to Bohrok127 not only for the reviews, but also for lending me his characters. And thanks to you too, Ovni! I appreciate your reviews!

* * *

I walked out of the house and looked back for a moment. I could just imagine Caitlin lying there, smiling. It made me want to run all the faster. It was ten o'clock at night and I was running downtown to complete me and Caitlin's life together.  
  
I got to the mall at about ten-thirty. Every store was still open, but it was getting pretty near closing time. I walked down one of the wings until I got to the store I wanted- the jewelry store. And, lo and behold, just the guy I wanted to see was there just as I arrived- Stitch!  
  
I tried to hide behind one of those plastic plants they put everywhere, but hiding a bright orange experiment behind a little green plant is like trying to hide a basketball by putting it on top of a pile of dirt.  
  
"Hey, Charlie," Stitch said.  
  
Oh, dear God, save me! "Hi Stitch." I said.  
  
"What are you doing at the mall?" He asked.  
  
"Uhh... what are you doing at the mall?" I asked back. It was a good question. Didn't he think a blue experiment wrapped in bandages might look just a little bit weak and vulnerable at a mall full of people?  
  
Angel poked her head out behind the corner of a store. "Stitch, are you coming?" She asked.  
  
He nodded towards Angel, "That's why."  
  
"Um... I was just... here for... uh... no reason." I was lying like a rug. Stitch knows that no guy in his right mind just goes to the mall for no reason! He glanced up and saw the sign for the jewelry store. My face started burning up. I must have looked like a pumpkin I was blushing so much. "I was, um..."  
  
Stitch winked and elbowed me, "Ooooh oh oooh," He said, "I see. Heh heh." He walked back to Angel.  
  
Stitch had assumed a lot of stuff about me for the time I had known him, but this was the first time he had actually been right. He knew what I was planning to do. And now, I just felt my heart beat faster and faster. I was filled with a combination of excitement and nervousness. My legs felt like jelly as I walked into the store.

* * *

Caitlin woke up at around ten-thirty the next day. I know that because I hadn't slept all night. I was afraid that if I fell asleep, I might miss my moment. I might miss my chance. I didn't want to spend another second of my life waiting for the "right time". I knew the time was now.  
  
"Good morning, Caitlin," I said as she opened her eyes. I pulled her into a tight hug before she spoke a single word.  
  
Appauled, she gentily pushed me away so she could look me in the eyes. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing," I said, "Today's just a great day."  
  
She smiled. I knew today would be the one.

* * *

I took Caitlin out for dinner that day. I had thought about doing what I was going to do during dinner, but I felt too nervous. I wanted it to be a more comfortable moment. I decided to wait until we got home.  
  
I was holding her hand as I walked to the front door with her.  
  
"Well... we're home." I smiled and opened the door.  
  
"Thanks for the dinner, Charlie." She kissed me on the cheek and walked inside.  
  
I blushed just a little bit and walked in after her. "Um... Caitlin?" I said.  
  
She looked at me. "Yeah?"  
  
"Uh, wait just a second." I told her to sit down on the couch and I walked up the stairs. I reached into the drawer and grabbed out the small dark blue box. I was elated. Finally, with Caitlin, this was happening to me. But I was still nervous... I knew it was the right time, the right person, yet... I still didn't know if I could. I took a deep breath. I can. I know it.  
  
I nearly fell over as I was walking down the stairs. My knees were so weak and my palms were starting to sweat. Come on, Charlie, pull yourself together. You can do this.  
  
"Caitlin?" I hid my hands behind my back and walked up to her.  
  
"Yes, Charlieee..." Her voice scratched drifted off as I got down on one knee.  
  
"Caitlin," I said again, "The last few weeks of my life have been a living hell. Finding out that Stitch was my dad was the worst possible thing that I thought could ever happen to me. And then having Angel becoming the most vicious and cold-hearted person I could ever meet because of everything made me realize something: My life sucks."  
  
I took a deep breath. "I'm okay, though. I lived through that. I even feel better now, because all of this has made me see that deep down, I really and truly love you. You are the greatest, most beautiful person I will ever meet. When my life was complete darkness, you were a huge ray of light. You just make me a better person."  
  
Caitlin smiled. I could see tears of happiness running down her face.  
  
"You loved me through the worst parts of our lives. You loved me when I was scarred and near dead. I figure, after the way the past weeks have gone, this can only get better. And, if my life is going to get better, I know it's because of you. I want to be with you, Caitlin."  
  
I pulled out the box and opened it. The small diamond shined in her eyes and brought a smile on her face that was bigger and more beautiful than any smile I've ever seen.  
  
"Caitlin, please, will you marry me?"

* * *

I stood in front of the two level light blue Hawaiian house with the huge staircase in front. I hadn't been there since Stitch had kicked me out. But I quickly walked up the steps without giving that day a second thought.  
  
I raised my orange paw and knocked on the door.  
  
Lilo answered it. She was wearing her red dress and she smiled big when she saw me. "Aloha!" She said, then she turned around and shouted, "Hey, everyone, Charlie's here!" She turned back to me, "Come on in."  
  
I walked inside. The place hasn't changed a bit. Of course, I had only been gone for ten days.  
  
"Charlie!" Angel raced around the corner and jumped over to me. She tackled me and grabbed me by the collar. "What'd she say?!?!" Angel said, in an Angel-like burst of emotion.  
  
"What'd who say?"  
  
"Caitlin!" She said, as if she was stating the obvious.  
  
"What'd Caitlin say about what?"  
  
Angel groaned. "What'd Caitlin say when you proposed?!"  
  
Stitch walked into the room. "Hey Angel," he said, "We both agreed not to kill Charlie again."  
  
I laughed. "Hey, I'm not the one here with my arm in a sling." I pulled Angel's hands off of me and I stood up.  
  
Angel sighed. "Would you just answer the question?"  
  
"Listen, I don't have time for the interrogation," I said, "I just came here to invite you all to the wedding." I gave them a smile that I'd been holding back since I got here.  
  
Angel's jaw dropped. "Oh, Charlie!" She raced over to me again and hugged me. "I knew it! I knew it!" She said.  
  
Stitch patted me on the back. "Way to go, Charlie."  
  
I heard something faintly, but I knew it was there. I could hear it. Into the small corner of my ear, Angel was softly singing The Siren Song. I felt soulless and emotionally dead again.  
  
I put my head into Angel's shoulder and cried. I was so happy, I couldn't help it. She hugged me even closer.  
  
All of my worst nightmares and greatest dreams had come true at the same time. 


End file.
